We’ve been watching this happen over the last few months as on-hand MINI supplies dwindled from 5 days, to four, then down to 2 days. Now, they are out. From Autoweek.com.
>The nation’s 82 Mini franchises are out of cars, and dealers can do little more than take orders and deliver preordered units for the rest of the year.
>As fuel prices have risen, demand for the Mini Cooper has outstripped supply.
>”For the last three months, we were selling from inventory,” said Jim McDowell, vice president of BMW’s Mini division. “There’s no way (July) can be as good.”
That makes a certain amount of sense that July sales might be down a bit due to lack of inventory. Even with the lads in Oxford working 3 shifts per day, 7 days per week, 800 cars a day just isn’t enough.
This comes as no surprise to anyone who’s stopped by their dealer recently. . . I was amazed at the complete difference in the dealer’s lot from just 6 months ago — had to jump over a couple tumble weeds on the way in.
How about a story/investigation about when and where MINI USA will be expanding their dealership network?
It would be nice to know the cities where we can expect to see brand new dealerships popping up in the coming years. Many of us owners, (myself included), must drive great distances for service. This means that many of us, especially after our cars have gone past their warranty coverage, will likely take our cars not to our MINI dealership for both scheduled and unscheduled service, but to a less-qualified, local mechanic. This is simply out of sheer convenience…
For example, it is a 3 hour drive to my dealer. For me to get service means scheduling a hotel room! Who needs to deal with that???
Like I said, I’m sure there are thousands of other MINI owners in my shoes, who would LOVE to know if a closer dealership might be opening up in the next year or two.
I expected this sooner or later – it’s too bad they can’t make ’em fast enough, there’d be a whole lot more MINIs on the roads real fast. Best that they make ’em good rather than in a hurry, tho – all being Wednesday cars would be appreciated.
Anyone read the posts after the article? Some of these people sound a lot like the clientel that we have been getting lately. There have been a lot of ticked off people who do not even believe us when we say we are out of cars and ordering for October/November. I’ve had people hang up on me, storm out of the dealership, threaten to purchase something else just because we are telling the truth. I’ve never seen it like this before. It’s sad that people in this country are so reactive instead of proactive. This Anti SUV revolution should have happened a long time ago and now the desperate people stuck driving their bigger vehicles have become like fiends. Has anyone else experieced this that works at a MINI dealer? I cannot be the only one.
Gee, if it weren’t for human nature, we’d be a pretty good species!
So many people want what they want when they want it, independant of any real information…. I guess it’s the American way now, sad to say….
But then, what do you expect from a population where many have said, “Gee, if I’d only known gas prices were going to rise, I’d never have bought this (fill in the name of pretty much any fuel innefficient vehicle here).”
Jon, Jim McDowell has said many times that there are plans to expand the US MINI dealer network to 115 outlets by 2012. Currently, there are 82 dealerships nationwide. When MINI first opened for business in early 2002, there were fewer than 70 stores.
I just purchased a Mini Cooper about 4 weeks ago, in Atlanta, and I am still waiting for it to arrive. It is scheduled to be here the week of Aug 11th.
Back in May we had people who accused us of putting sold tags on random cars to make it look like they were selling. Now we have people are angry that we won’t sell the MINIs we have reserved for test drives. I regularly have people call from 200-300 miles away checking to see if we have any inventory. The next closest MINI centers are 70-80 miles away. The last cancellation sold in 45 minutes.
<blockquote>“Some of these people sound a lot like the clientel that we have been getting lately.”</blockquote>
I suppose they’re used to the stadium-sized car lots full of white, beige, black and silver cars as far as the eye can see, the salesman who takes you out to the lot in a golf cart, and the ability to show up in the old clunker at 10 am and drive off the lot outfitted in the latest model by noon. (remember the “Ford Outfitters” branding?)
The MINI owners I’ve met all have one thing in common: They’re all very thoughtful. People I know who have bought MINIs all mulled it over for quite some time, played with different configurations, took a couple of test drives and then waited patiently for their car to arrive. One thing the late-to-the-fuel-efficiency-thing consumers have in common is a deficit in forward thinking when it comes to their car purchases. If they’d had the foresight to weigh fuel efficiency a bit heavier during their last car purchase, they wouldn’t be shopping for a gas-guzzler replacement today.
Yeah like the people whose lease on their Volvo is coming due next week and they want to downsize and need it by then. I feel bad but at the same time I tell them what can I do? I have noticed that a lot of people who wouldn’t have considered MINI before are equating their previous car buying experiences to buying a MINI as well. We MA’s that I know or are friends with do not want to stuff people into cars like other manufacturers do and end up having that person never consider our product again. This is as emotional for us to sell these as it is for people who really like their experience to make their choice a MINI. I am in CT. and I have never gotten so many calls from CA. and TX. in my life. These people sound desperate when I talk to them. I feel bad breaking them the bad news about the inventory because they just end up literally hanging up on me. I am willing to help these people out by recommending one of my fellow dealers that may have soemthing for them but they still just hang up in my face.
<blockquote>How about a story/investigation about when and where MINI USA will be expanding their dealership network?</blockquote>
With all due respect, Jon, I wouldn’t expect any expansion of networks until the plant is expanded or the dollar gets stronger.
In the US we get our MINIs relatively cheap as compared to the rest of the world. I can’t imagine that there’s any motivation for MINI to invest more in their production specifically to sell cars in the US for our weak currency. It’s probably not an option for them to adjust allocations from other countries our way for the same reason.
I know it’s a long time coming but I’m glad to finally see rising interest in small, efficient cars here in the states.
There is already news about the number of increased dealerships and the timeframe they are coming, but locations haven’t been announced. I don’t remember exactly, but the number to be added is 10-15. But that means the allocation per dealership will have to drop. While Mini may squeeze a couple thousand more cars to the US, they aren’t adding enough to offset the added dealerships. But it will take a couple years to add the dealers, then the R60 will be on line from Austria…
Too bad about the latest bunch of potential MINI owners are getting enraged they can’t be produced fast enough for demand. It’s not like gas prices haven’t been high for awhile. I was lucky enough to have the foresight and have always loved small cars. Dad had several Triumphs, MGs and such. Never owned an SUV and never saw the need for one.
Not a day goes by where I don’t see several MINIs of the road. 7 months ago it was unusual to see a few a month.
Selling my HD Ultra Classic to pay off the MINI. Almost gets as good mileage (but poor for a motorcycle @37mpg) and I don’t get wet or cold. Also cool, my 05 is selling for 4K+ than I paid for it used seven months ago. Of course when they are able to meet demand again my value will drop but who cares. When you buy at of necessity it’s already too late.
My local dealers website says, “A NOTE TO ALL OF OUR VALUABLE CUSTOMERS: OUR NEW CAR INVENTORY IS RUNNING LOW…AND FAST! “
You guys in USA need your own assembly plant – perhaps you could take over some of those GM and Ford factories that are closing!
I agree with C4 – demand creates high residual values of your used car stock just so long as extra premiums are not added to list prices of new cars.
It may get to a situation where you cannot buy a new MINI unless you have a used MINI to trade.
I wasn’t planning on getting a new MINI until I drove to the dealership last month and they offered me a staggeringly large amount for my 06 on trade. They are trying to get as many pre-owned cars as possible on the lot so that they can move a few of the impatient folks into them.
My wife is even considering ordering a clubman due to the amount that we think she’ll get on trade for her Cooper right now.
In stark contrast, MINI dealers in New Zealand are overstocked and having a hard time selling new and used cars. Adding to this oversupply are the large amount of used 5 year old MINIs being imported from Japan by used car dealers who buy stock at Japanese auction houses.
So you could buy a RH drive car, import it into USA, and convert to LH drive. Or leave it RH drive for the novelty factor.
@GregW – I’m from NZ too and I think it’s an entirely different situation here. New Zealanders pay NZ$44,000 (US$32,500) for a bog standard Cooper S with most people I expect paying north of $50K by the time you add Chilli and basic options. This is hugely expensive for a hatch back, and I expect people looking to downgrade to save money on fuel will look elsewhere before buying a MINI…
@GregW – I just checked the MINI USA web site and I see the bog standard Cooper S sells for US$22,600 which means we’re paying a US$10,000 premium in New Zealand. I bought my Cooper S in December last year and I’m starting to feel a tiny bit ripped off…that pricing is very very ouch.
MARKSMITH, for every one that hangs up on you, there is one MA that won’t give a customer the time of day when they wander onto a lot somewhere or call for more information. So everyone’s even. 🙂
I do feel bad for you, that is no way to treat a human being. Being upset and rude because someone can’t sell you something is childish at best. Those people should meet a brick wall going about a buck fity.
BSU, i don’t think they’re doing it for making the customer more comfortable, they’re doing because, they can make a killing on used Minis.
Well, if they’re not selling in NZ, we have a good hint where the extra 2k-3k for the US will come from! Drop the NZ allocation, and build a few more with LHD!
I think MINI should maintain a holding pattern even in light of huge product demand and high fuel prices. Just a year or so ago, MINI dealerships were bursting with unsold inventory and all of a sudden their 20-30 day supply of vehicles has come down to 1 day supply or none at all.
High gas prices have been a blessing for MINI. Many people are discovering and re-discovering “small” and some of the old perceptions regarding ownership of small and fuel efficient vehicles have gone right out the window. Americans are re-evaluating their lifestyle of excess and coming to terms with the fact that having a big gas guzzling vehicle or a McMansion are not realistic and sustainable endeavors in the long term.
However, I don’t think MINI needs to become yet another Honda or Toyota of the world. They need to resist the temptation to put a new MINI on every driveway in America (Which is exactly what is been happening with BMW). I think should lead the way (and it has done quite successfully) for the small car culture and lifestyle. I welcome and embrace more high quality small car offerings in the market, but I don’t want MINI to become a 500K high volume seller in the US.
Being as it is, due to scarcity of new vehicles in dealer’s lots, this has the effect of driving up used MINI residuals. I would not be surprised if my MINI dealer would offer me today $19K-$20K on a trade for my pristine 2005 R53 S with 45K miles. That is almost 85%-90% off original MSRP!
So MINI, please keep production levels the way they are. This benefits all in the long run by making your product highly sought after and ensuring solid residuals for existing owners.
Anyone read the posts after the article? Some of these people sound a lot like the clientel that we have been getting lately. There have been a lot of ticked off people who do not even believe us when we say we are out of cars and ordering for October/November. I’ve had people hang up on me, storm out of the dealership, threaten to purchase something else just because we are telling the truth. I’ve never seen it like this before. It’s sad that people in this country are so reactive instead of proactive. This Anti SUV revolution should have happened a long time ago and now the desperate people stuck driving their bigger vehicles have become like fiends. Has anyone else experieced this that works at a MINI dealer? I cannot be the only one
Mark,
I’m in the same boat as you. As soon at the gas prices hit $3.50 some people came in and started searching for the better fuel economy cars. People that still drove the larger SUV’s etc… Were really crunching more numbers and seeing what the future outcome of the fuel prices were going to be. As prices then hit $4.00 we all saw the whole drop in cars/trucks. The average mpg was 22 mpg that people were getting which is still good, but now everyone needs a 35 mpg. I’m a used car dealer right now. I have nothing but used cars on my lot/front row.
We got more alocations from MINI, but again they are for 2009 models. Soon enough we are going completeing those slots as well. The MINI factory is working off the hook for us to help feed the demand. If the demand keeps on coming adding more dealerships won’t help out the alocation fix. It’ll just put more of a wait time on the cars for other dealers. MINI should start planning on building a new factory to help the supply out. 800 cars to the world market right now is not enough. We need more than that.
I was at a dealer a few weeks ago. They had 20-30 in stock. I stopped back 3 days later and they were all sold except for 2. I ordered mine and it’s “en Route” now. I should see it in 2 weeks.
If you’re wondering I ordered a British racing green JCW with a white top and mirror caps. *(no red…too many cops out here). Sport suspension, JCW suspension, HD radio, & Challenge wheels 17″ no runs flats. 🙂
What ever happened to the saying “Anything worth while is worth waiting for”? It’s amazing how much of a premium people are willing to pay for instant gratification.
Well, the one sad point is that my wife’s Clubman won’t be coming with Lifetime SIRIUS Satilitte Radio (the website now says only 1 year).
I have to say I agree with the view that most new MINI owners tend to research and wait. My wife has been picking options since the Clubman S first showed up on MINIUSA. She even got to test drive the Clubman S in Automatic at MTTS 2008 – Boston and had a freaking BLAST (see Todd and db, some people LIKE the Clubman S in Auto). Now she has to wait another few months, not get all the Audiophile upgrades she wanted 🙁 , but will still know that the day she is handed that keyfob, that MINI is already You-nique to her… and then the Graphix mods will begin!
FYI (to everyone): I’ve researched it online, and there have been several surveys done that show RED cars DO NOT get more tickets than other car colors. One survey by an insurance company even said RED cars got less tickets. I wonder if that “Urban Legend” is the reason that the (3) top-selling car colors are now white, gray, and black, in that order. Anyway, everyone loves my new all RED MCc with Black trim; but they always add that “warning” about the extra speeding tickets, etc.
So yeah, I’m not too suprised about all this hoopla of the demand. When I first started selling MINI’s there was a 12 month wait for the S and 6 months for a Cooper. And that was 4 years ago. Now that all this gas MPG issues that everyone is just now noticing that thier SUV suck gas like there’s no tomorrow. They should have bought a MINI along time ago.
BMW will keep the production as is for a long while. When they do start adding a few dealerships in the U.S. then maybe, I really mean maybe, they might add a few extra thousand to divy out among the States.
Oh, and to the few people out there who think the dealerships are gonna shell out top dollar for your used R53, think again. No one is going to pay that much for it. Keep in mind that the dealership ( if they are going to keep it) will have to replace tires, fix any little thing thats wrong, add the MINI NEXT CPO for 6 year/100k warranty and that will bring your used MINI to the cost over that of a new one. Trust me, I see it everyday.
Dave, if you paid attention to previous Woofcasts, you’ll find that DB really enjoyed the Clubman S auto in Sport mode and using the steering paddle shifters around the Auto-X course in Miami.
The thing is that DB and Todd got saddled with a problematic R56 MCS automatic for the Miami-Boston drive. They said they kept getting a lot of warning lights, etc.
I also own a Clubman S auto (Almost 6 months old with less than 4K miles) and I absolutely love the car. Haven’t had a lick of trouble with the AISIN automatic and the car is a blast to drive.
It is OK not to like automatic cars. What is a little arrogant is to talk down on folks that for one reason or another prefer an auto equipped MINI over the manual gearbox version. Trust me, we are having as much fun as the next guy with a manual.
To me the reported 3rd to 2nd gear squeal in the R56 and the dubious durability of the OEM clutch components do make a strong case to skip the manual transmission and spring the extra $1.3K for the auto slushbox.
Right now, I would probably think twice about getting a R55 or R56 manual, but would feel more confident on a JCW factory car since the clutch is more heavy duty and supposedly better than in the stock versions.
I’m not surprised: My local dealer has almost no new MINis left and in their used section they only had 2 R53 MINIs. I am not in the market now, but I am sure they will be willing to give me a little better trade in allowance in comparison to 6 months ago. My 2005 R53 S hardtop has the 6 year/100K MINI TLC, brand new tires/rims (MINi OEM), 100% bone stock and dealer maintained since new (Recently serviced 2 weeks ago). If a MINI dealer were to take my car in, all they have to do to it is to park it in the lot and put a sign in it. That’s it. The car is already ready to go and fully prepped….
In SoCal has anyone noticed empty MINI lots? I have not. On the way to the Rose Bowl, Monrovia, (Assael) seemed to have plenty, and while I was in Santa Ana (my dealer) it looked like they had enough, and Long Beach seems to always have a bunch.
Curious how this makes everyone here feel … is the ideal world one where everyone drives a mini?
This comes as no surprise to anyone who’s stopped by their dealer recently. . . I was amazed at the complete difference in the dealer’s lot from just 6 months ago — had to jump over a couple tumble weeds on the way in.
DB, Gabe, etc.:
How about a story/investigation about when and where MINI USA will be expanding their dealership network?
It would be nice to know the cities where we can expect to see brand new dealerships popping up in the coming years. Many of us owners, (myself included), must drive great distances for service. This means that many of us, especially after our cars have gone past their warranty coverage, will likely take our cars not to our MINI dealership for both scheduled and unscheduled service, but to a less-qualified, local mechanic. This is simply out of sheer convenience…
For example, it is a 3 hour drive to my dealer. For me to get service means scheduling a hotel room! Who needs to deal with that???
Like I said, I’m sure there are thousands of other MINI owners in my shoes, who would LOVE to know if a closer dealership might be opening up in the next year or two.
I expected this sooner or later – it’s too bad they can’t make ’em fast enough, there’d be a whole lot more MINIs on the roads real fast. Best that they make ’em good rather than in a hurry, tho – all being Wednesday cars would be appreciated.
High demand and product scarcity will ensure solid residuals for a long time to come.
Anyone read the posts after the article? Some of these people sound a lot like the clientel that we have been getting lately. There have been a lot of ticked off people who do not even believe us when we say we are out of cars and ordering for October/November. I’ve had people hang up on me, storm out of the dealership, threaten to purchase something else just because we are telling the truth. I’ve never seen it like this before. It’s sad that people in this country are so reactive instead of proactive. This Anti SUV revolution should have happened a long time ago and now the desperate people stuck driving their bigger vehicles have become like fiends. Has anyone else experieced this that works at a MINI dealer? I cannot be the only one.
Gee, if it weren’t for human nature, we’d be a pretty good species!
So many people want what they want when they want it, independant of any real information…. I guess it’s the American way now, sad to say….
But then, what do you expect from a population where many have said, “Gee, if I’d only known gas prices were going to rise, I’d never have bought this (fill in the name of pretty much any fuel innefficient vehicle here).”
Matt
Jon, Jim McDowell has said many times that there are plans to expand the US MINI dealer network to 115 outlets by 2012. Currently, there are 82 dealerships nationwide. When MINI first opened for business in early 2002, there were fewer than 70 stores.
I just purchased a Mini Cooper about 4 weeks ago, in Atlanta, and I am still waiting for it to arrive. It is scheduled to be here the week of Aug 11th.
Back in May we had people who accused us of putting sold tags on random cars to make it look like they were selling. Now we have people are angry that we won’t sell the MINIs we have reserved for test drives. I regularly have people call from 200-300 miles away checking to see if we have any inventory. The next closest MINI centers are 70-80 miles away. The last cancellation sold in 45 minutes.
<blockquote>“Some of these people sound a lot like the clientel that we have been getting lately.”</blockquote>
I suppose they’re used to the stadium-sized car lots full of white, beige, black and silver cars as far as the eye can see, the salesman who takes you out to the lot in a golf cart, and the ability to show up in the old clunker at 10 am and drive off the lot outfitted in the latest model by noon. (remember the “Ford Outfitters” branding?)
The MINI owners I’ve met all have one thing in common: They’re all very thoughtful. People I know who have bought MINIs all mulled it over for quite some time, played with different configurations, took a couple of test drives and then waited patiently for their car to arrive. One thing the late-to-the-fuel-efficiency-thing consumers have in common is a deficit in forward thinking when it comes to their car purchases. If they’d had the foresight to weigh fuel efficiency a bit heavier during their last car purchase, they wouldn’t be shopping for a gas-guzzler replacement today.
Yeah like the people whose lease on their Volvo is coming due next week and they want to downsize and need it by then. I feel bad but at the same time I tell them what can I do? I have noticed that a lot of people who wouldn’t have considered MINI before are equating their previous car buying experiences to buying a MINI as well. We MA’s that I know or are friends with do not want to stuff people into cars like other manufacturers do and end up having that person never consider our product again. This is as emotional for us to sell these as it is for people who really like their experience to make their choice a MINI. I am in CT. and I have never gotten so many calls from CA. and TX. in my life. These people sound desperate when I talk to them. I feel bad breaking them the bad news about the inventory because they just end up literally hanging up on me. I am willing to help these people out by recommending one of my fellow dealers that may have soemthing for them but they still just hang up in my face.
<blockquote>How about a story/investigation about when and where MINI USA will be expanding their dealership network?</blockquote>
With all due respect, Jon, I wouldn’t expect any expansion of networks until the plant is expanded or the dollar gets stronger.
In the US we get our MINIs relatively cheap as compared to the rest of the world. I can’t imagine that there’s any motivation for MINI to invest more in their production specifically to sell cars in the US for our weak currency. It’s probably not an option for them to adjust allocations from other countries our way for the same reason.
I know it’s a long time coming but I’m glad to finally see rising interest in small, efficient cars here in the states.
That initial overproduction of R56s in 2007 is looking pretty smart right now.
There is already news about the number of increased dealerships and the timeframe they are coming, but locations haven’t been announced. I don’t remember exactly, but the number to be added is 10-15. But that means the allocation per dealership will have to drop. While Mini may squeeze a couple thousand more cars to the US, they aren’t adding enough to offset the added dealerships. But it will take a couple years to add the dealers, then the R60 will be on line from Austria…
Matt
Too bad about the latest bunch of potential MINI owners are getting enraged they can’t be produced fast enough for demand. It’s not like gas prices haven’t been high for awhile. I was lucky enough to have the foresight and have always loved small cars. Dad had several Triumphs, MGs and such. Never owned an SUV and never saw the need for one.
Not a day goes by where I don’t see several MINIs of the road. 7 months ago it was unusual to see a few a month.
Selling my HD Ultra Classic to pay off the MINI. Almost gets as good mileage (but poor for a motorcycle @37mpg) and I don’t get wet or cold. Also cool, my 05 is selling for 4K+ than I paid for it used seven months ago. Of course when they are able to meet demand again my value will drop but who cares. When you buy at of necessity it’s already too late.
My local dealers website says, “A NOTE TO ALL OF OUR VALUABLE CUSTOMERS: OUR NEW CAR INVENTORY IS RUNNING LOW…AND FAST! “
You guys in USA need your own assembly plant – perhaps you could take over some of those GM and Ford factories that are closing!
I agree with C4 – demand creates high residual values of your used car stock just so long as extra premiums are not added to list prices of new cars.
It may get to a situation where you cannot buy a new MINI unless you have a used MINI to trade.
I wasn’t planning on getting a new MINI until I drove to the dealership last month and they offered me a staggeringly large amount for my 06 on trade. They are trying to get as many pre-owned cars as possible on the lot so that they can move a few of the impatient folks into them.
My wife is even considering ordering a clubman due to the amount that we think she’ll get on trade for her Cooper right now.
It is a good time to upgrade!
In stark contrast, MINI dealers in New Zealand are overstocked and having a hard time selling new and used cars. Adding to this oversupply are the large amount of used 5 year old MINIs being imported from Japan by used car dealers who buy stock at Japanese auction houses.
So you could buy a RH drive car, import it into USA, and convert to LH drive. Or leave it RH drive for the novelty factor.
@GregW – I’m from NZ too and I think it’s an entirely different situation here. New Zealanders pay NZ$44,000 (US$32,500) for a bog standard Cooper S with most people I expect paying north of $50K by the time you add Chilli and basic options. This is hugely expensive for a hatch back, and I expect people looking to downgrade to save money on fuel will look elsewhere before buying a MINI…
@GregW – I just checked the MINI USA web site and I see the bog standard Cooper S sells for US$22,600 which means we’re paying a US$10,000 premium in New Zealand. I bought my Cooper S in December last year and I’m starting to feel a tiny bit ripped off…that pricing is very very ouch.
MARKSMITH, for every one that hangs up on you, there is one MA that won’t give a customer the time of day when they wander onto a lot somewhere or call for more information. So everyone’s even. 🙂
I do feel bad for you, that is no way to treat a human being. Being upset and rude because someone can’t sell you something is childish at best. Those people should meet a brick wall going about a buck fity.
BSU, i don’t think they’re doing it for making the customer more comfortable, they’re doing because, they can make a killing on used Minis.
Well, if they’re not selling in NZ, we have a good hint where the extra 2k-3k for the US will come from! Drop the NZ allocation, and build a few more with LHD!
Matt
Ladies also build MINIs. Even with both sexes working all hours, there isn’t enough supply.
Maybe just mabe Mini needs to relook at there timeline for realease of the Feb 09 cars and do them now while the market is hot…..
You guys there in US are lucky, if MINI is low-fuel-consumption car for you 🙂 Here, in Europe we are looking at MINI Diesel.
I think MINI should maintain a holding pattern even in light of huge product demand and high fuel prices. Just a year or so ago, MINI dealerships were bursting with unsold inventory and all of a sudden their 20-30 day supply of vehicles has come down to 1 day supply or none at all.
High gas prices have been a blessing for MINI. Many people are discovering and re-discovering “small” and some of the old perceptions regarding ownership of small and fuel efficient vehicles have gone right out the window. Americans are re-evaluating their lifestyle of excess and coming to terms with the fact that having a big gas guzzling vehicle or a McMansion are not realistic and sustainable endeavors in the long term.
However, I don’t think MINI needs to become yet another Honda or Toyota of the world. They need to resist the temptation to put a new MINI on every driveway in America (Which is exactly what is been happening with BMW). I think should lead the way (and it has done quite successfully) for the small car culture and lifestyle. I welcome and embrace more high quality small car offerings in the market, but I don’t want MINI to become a 500K high volume seller in the US.
Being as it is, due to scarcity of new vehicles in dealer’s lots, this has the effect of driving up used MINI residuals. I would not be surprised if my MINI dealer would offer me today $19K-$20K on a trade for my pristine 2005 R53 S with 45K miles. That is almost 85%-90% off original MSRP!
So MINI, please keep production levels the way they are. This benefits all in the long run by making your product highly sought after and ensuring solid residuals for existing owners.
Anyone read the posts after the article? Some of these people sound a lot like the clientel that we have been getting lately. There have been a lot of ticked off people who do not even believe us when we say we are out of cars and ordering for October/November. I’ve had people hang up on me, storm out of the dealership, threaten to purchase something else just because we are telling the truth. I’ve never seen it like this before. It’s sad that people in this country are so reactive instead of proactive. This Anti SUV revolution should have happened a long time ago and now the desperate people stuck driving their bigger vehicles have become like fiends. Has anyone else experieced this that works at a MINI dealer? I cannot be the only one
Mark,
I’m in the same boat as you. As soon at the gas prices hit $3.50 some people came in and started searching for the better fuel economy cars. People that still drove the larger SUV’s etc… Were really crunching more numbers and seeing what the future outcome of the fuel prices were going to be. As prices then hit $4.00 we all saw the whole drop in cars/trucks. The average mpg was 22 mpg that people were getting which is still good, but now everyone needs a 35 mpg. I’m a used car dealer right now. I have nothing but used cars on my lot/front row.
We got more alocations from MINI, but again they are for 2009 models. Soon enough we are going completeing those slots as well. The MINI factory is working off the hook for us to help feed the demand. If the demand keeps on coming adding more dealerships won’t help out the alocation fix. It’ll just put more of a wait time on the cars for other dealers. MINI should start planning on building a new factory to help the supply out. 800 cars to the world market right now is not enough. We need more than that.
Dave
I was at a dealer a few weeks ago. They had 20-30 in stock. I stopped back 3 days later and they were all sold except for 2. I ordered mine and it’s “en Route” now. I should see it in 2 weeks.
If you’re wondering I ordered a British racing green JCW with a white top and mirror caps. *(no red…too many cops out here). Sport suspension, JCW suspension, HD radio, & Challenge wheels 17″ no runs flats. 🙂
What ever happened to the saying “Anything worth while is worth waiting for”? It’s amazing how much of a premium people are willing to pay for instant gratification.
Well, the one sad point is that my wife’s Clubman won’t be coming with Lifetime SIRIUS Satilitte Radio (the website now says only 1 year).
I have to say I agree with the view that most new MINI owners tend to research and wait. My wife has been picking options since the Clubman S first showed up on MINIUSA. She even got to test drive the Clubman S in Automatic at MTTS 2008 – Boston and had a freaking BLAST (see Todd and db, some people LIKE the Clubman S in Auto). Now she has to wait another few months, not get all the Audiophile upgrades she wanted 🙁 , but will still know that the day she is handed that keyfob, that MINI is already You-nique to her… and then the Graphix mods will begin!
FYI (to everyone): I’ve researched it online, and there have been several surveys done that show RED cars DO NOT get more tickets than other car colors. One survey by an insurance company even said RED cars got less tickets. I wonder if that “Urban Legend” is the reason that the (3) top-selling car colors are now white, gray, and black, in that order. Anyway, everyone loves my new all RED MCc with Black trim; but they always add that “warning” about the extra speeding tickets, etc.
So yeah, I’m not too suprised about all this hoopla of the demand. When I first started selling MINI’s there was a 12 month wait for the S and 6 months for a Cooper. And that was 4 years ago. Now that all this gas MPG issues that everyone is just now noticing that thier SUV suck gas like there’s no tomorrow. They should have bought a MINI along time ago.
BMW will keep the production as is for a long while. When they do start adding a few dealerships in the U.S. then maybe, I really mean maybe, they might add a few extra thousand to divy out among the States.
Oh, and to the few people out there who think the dealerships are gonna shell out top dollar for your used R53, think again. No one is going to pay that much for it. Keep in mind that the dealership ( if they are going to keep it) will have to replace tires, fix any little thing thats wrong, add the MINI NEXT CPO for 6 year/100k warranty and that will bring your used MINI to the cost over that of a new one. Trust me, I see it everyday.
Dave, if you paid attention to previous Woofcasts, you’ll find that DB really enjoyed the Clubman S auto in Sport mode and using the steering paddle shifters around the Auto-X course in Miami.
The thing is that DB and Todd got saddled with a problematic R56 MCS automatic for the Miami-Boston drive. They said they kept getting a lot of warning lights, etc.
I also own a Clubman S auto (Almost 6 months old with less than 4K miles) and I absolutely love the car. Haven’t had a lick of trouble with the AISIN automatic and the car is a blast to drive.
It is OK not to like automatic cars. What is a little arrogant is to talk down on folks that for one reason or another prefer an auto equipped MINI over the manual gearbox version. Trust me, we are having as much fun as the next guy with a manual.
To me the reported 3rd to 2nd gear squeal in the R56 and the dubious durability of the OEM clutch components do make a strong case to skip the manual transmission and spring the extra $1.3K for the auto slushbox.
Right now, I would probably think twice about getting a R55 or R56 manual, but would feel more confident on a JCW factory car since the clutch is more heavy duty and supposedly better than in the stock versions.
I’m not surprised: My local dealer has almost no new MINis left and in their used section they only had 2 R53 MINIs. I am not in the market now, but I am sure they will be willing to give me a little better trade in allowance in comparison to 6 months ago. My 2005 R53 S hardtop has the 6 year/100K MINI TLC, brand new tires/rims (MINi OEM), 100% bone stock and dealer maintained since new (Recently serviced 2 weeks ago). If a MINI dealer were to take my car in, all they have to do to it is to park it in the lot and put a sign in it. That’s it. The car is already ready to go and fully prepped….
…But it ain’t going anywhere ;).
In SoCal has anyone noticed empty MINI lots? I have not. On the way to the Rose Bowl, Monrovia, (Assael) seemed to have plenty, and while I was in Santa Ana (my dealer) it looked like they had enough, and Long Beach seems to always have a bunch.